Tower of the Chapel
by IoHu
Summary: Almost there. I whisper a lullaby to my child, as the boat lurches and water covers our feet. I don't move, just squeeze Izzy tighter in my arms. I won't think that this is all in vain. Every friend left behind, everyone who isn't here with us- it hurts to know that they're forced back to pain and loss. I must go on. For the sake of my people. For Izzy to find a home.


**Chapter 1: Prologue**

 _The Large Isle_

Wawanakwa Heights is the capital of the world in entertainment, food, and beauteous landscapes. Unrivaled by any other country, Wawanakwa has had a successful run with publicity and development in the hands of Chris McLean, their newly elected king. As heaven-reaching chapels and city squares were created, Wawanakwa easily became a place of safety and joy as tourists flooded in to start their new lives in paradise. However, as the population began to rise, guards were put on all borders to allow the current citizens to live comfortably instead of squandering resources so more people could enter. Or at least, that's what was in the newspapers.

However, it wasn't as much a matter of exclusivity and tourist attraction as it was a matter of caution. In the neighboring territory of Boney Island, ravenous creatures roamed and water began to turn darker as the air became heavy around the space. The island had become overrun with all types of danger, released from the larger island's disastrous underground experiments, and it was becoming more and more unstable as the days passed.

The first to notice- the families of scientists, creators, hunters and fishers- made their way to the Large Isle long before travel tariffs were places and documents were required to pass. Afterward, it was difficult to leave, but many carpenters and craftsmen and women were allowed passage into the Heights to engage in the economy. The rest of the Island inhabitants were left to their own devices as the travel ban was put in place and no one else was allowed to leave or come in. The black market of the island arose to do shady business with Wawanakwa and to bypass the law, and many rival gangs sprung up to take advantage of the worsening condition of the island by hoarding resources. In the midst of all this, Echo Escope and Esquire Explosivo planned their escape. Having been a spy on the Large Isle under Hatchet's command, Echo knew exactly how she was going to get them to fly under the radar.

"Ok, so the Northeastern Port is our best shot of getting out of here. The armada is on rotation in a couple of days and in the transition, we can pass by practically unnoticed. They do have a lot of cameras up, but that should be no problem. The Anderson's have been kind enough to create some fake footage of the dock for us, we just need to jam the armada's feed at the right time. Then we take our bikes all the way to the bait house near the docks and deal with the night guards," Echo explained.

"Tranquilizer darts?" Esquire clarified. "Why of course. Anything else, and they'll be on our tail," Echo sighed. "And you're sure this is going to work? I'm sure we could try other methods of distracting them too," Esquire added as he pulled out his special sap bomb designed to create mass amounts of smoke and tossed it from hand to hand grinning widely.

"Absolutely foolproof," Echo added laughing lightly and grabbing the fire starter from him, "and It's like I said, these seven points are being monitored, this point here has the weakest armada right now and the Anderson's have even managed to disable audio for the next three days guaranteed. It's now or never. You can blow them up if you absolutely need to, but remember, we can't be as reckless as we used to be."

"My memory's not that messed up from the battle zone. How could I forget," Esquire gleamed as he picked up a small figure from a makeshift crib. "My precious little one. Stay asleep, please. Ah, how I wish she had gotten to see the island before it became such a wasteland."

"Me too. But it's not like that anymore. We have to go now, before the new policy is passed. I'm sure we can find a good place for her there," Echo whispered as she stared out at what her beautiful island had become.

"Of course we will," Esquire reassured, holding the baby in one hand and hugging Echo with the other. "Like you said, it's foolproof."

As flames from all around the island arose and the shouts and gunshots began to grow louder, Esquire passed the baby to Echo and started to scribble out a note for his good friend in the heights. As he shoved the note into his back pocket and began to pack for tomorrow's early morning, he caught Echo already sleeping on the couch with the child in her arms.

"I sure am going to miss this place."

Six in the morning and the sun is barely starting to come out. Esquire rushes to grab the bags as Echo grabs a blanket to wrap the baby in front of her. They set off to the northeastern part of the island by foot, hiding at posts they'd developed over the years to be safe points. By the time it was six in the afternoon, the two were nearly at the last post before the bait shop. As bullets flew around them, the pair ducked and remained silent. The large Isle's police force had come in to deal with the Killer Bass gang, who had been stealing military supplies from not only the Heights, but also from private artillery bases on the island. A rumble shook the ground as the Killer Bass were swiftly surrounded and arrested. Esquire covered his mouth before he let out a gasp at the sight of the man in charge. A black uniform with red lining and a small diamond with four letters at each point: RCMP. It was his squadron leader from the army, C. Hatchet. The man was renowned for winning battles with great speed and brute force. I can't believe there were only two casualties, Esquire thought. As the RCMP slowly receded to the center of the island, Esquire shook his head, still in shock.

"Who was that," Echo asked curiously.

"A guy named Hatchet," Esquire said without emotion.

"Hatchet. THE Hatchet? That was him?" Echo asked in disbelief. "Who's in charge of him?"

"What do you mean?" Esquire questioned.

"There's no way anyone was getting out alive if he had his way. He's under someone's orders, for sure." Echo reasoned.

"Probably, that would explain his new uniform as well," Esquire said, picking up the bags to head out again.

Man, when they said he was intimidating, they weren't kidding. I'd like to have a go at him. Echo thought. As she shifted to continue forward, Esquire put his hand up to stop her. "Not yet," he plainly stated. Echo raised her eyebrow as she settled back down and kept her eyes peeled. "Fifteen minutes, ok? Hatchet wouldn't waste more time than that," Esquire said, looking through the foliage intently. Echo began counting in her mind and finally, the fifteen minutes of waiting was over and Esquire nodded at Echo to start moving. As they moved on, they sidestepped small streams in tight spaces with rocks and tried to avoid stepping on leaves. Finally, they got to a dark place with a little cave. The last post, and this one wasn't theirs.

"You made it," a young woman said, coming out from behind the darkness. She smiled as she pressed a button on her remote and screens began to light up the cave as a large boulder moved to block off the outside. Esquire and Echo watched with wide eyes as the screens began to flash to different angles of the dock.

"Joan," Echo sighed relieved, looking at all the angles of the dock, "you've got every inch."

Joan chuckled, "that's my specialty. How's the baby?"

"She's doing great," Esquire responded proudly, "not a peep from her the whole time."

"Glad to hear it," Joan said smiling. "I apologize for the lack of company, my husband's in the Large Isle finding a tutor for our son."

"All's well with that; I'm glad they let them pass," Echo said worriedly.

"Yeah, it was quite the process, but it's good to have connections," Joan spoke quietly, "Anyway, enough of the chit-chat, my friends. We have to get you out of here soon. You see this guard right here? He's set to switch out in less than an hour. You need to get to the dock as the switch takes place. You'll have the best chance right then, so keep an eye out. Got it? Everything you need will be under the pier. Just keep quiet, the water will hide you until you get what you need."

"Got it," Esquire and Echo nodded.


End file.
